


All Eyes On Me

by wisepuma23



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Also very dramatic, Angst and Feels, Betrayal, Deceit Sanders Acting Terrible, Former Dark Side Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Gen, Heterochromia, Identity Reveal, Morally Neutral Deceit Sanders, Platonic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Prompt Fic, Protective Morality | Patton Sanders, Romantic Friendship, SPOILERS FOR SELFISHNESS VERSUS SELFLESSNESS, Warning: Deceit Sanders, cough, snek - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 12:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18365615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisepuma23/pseuds/wisepuma23
Summary: Virgil hid his heterochromia from the others, he didn't want them to know he was a Dark Side. So two-faced even their eyes couldn't decide on a color to wear. Deceit is rather fond of dropping hints about this secret until one day he can't take it anymore. All secrets must spill, there is room for only one liar in this mindscape.





	All Eyes On Me

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings:** Angst, Deceit, Spoilers for newest video (Selfishness vs Selflessness), Crying, Feelings
> 
>  **Word Count:** 3,746
> 
> Notes: You can find the post that an anon prompted me [here](http://wisepuma23.tumblr.com/post/183905643908/ironwoman359-i-think-youd-like-to-see-this-see)! I really liked this idea and it didn’t come out exactly how I pictured but that’s fine pffft. Got to torture Virgil so that’s a bonus! :D

Virgil bounced his leg, hoping his jittery energy would leave him already. He bit at a loose strip of skin on his thumb. Patton hummed a song from the kitchen next room over. Smelled like soup with chicken and probably some potatoes too knowing him. _Growing kids need veggies_ , as if they weren’t almost thirty at this point. Virgil couldn’t even focus on the smell for too long. His eyes darted around the common room as his leg bounced up and down, up and down, up and–

A dark shadow loomed behind the sofa, he didn’t dare to pull his eyes away. Virgil sat still and the back of the neck prickled. Finally. That bastard finally decided to show up. He straightened in his seat as he glared at the hidden shadow. Knock it _off_ already. The shadow squirmed but made no move to slip out of its hiding place.

“Deceit,” Virgil snarled, then shot up from his seat with a growl, “Get **OUT**! I already told you to fuck off!” The humming in the next room stopped, “Your act is up!”

A low laugh echoed through the room. Virgil followed the glide of darkness past the sofa until it rippled into that dorky black and yellow getup. Why did Deceit insist on looking like a street magician? And not even one of the _good_ ones! Deceit wiggled his fingers at him with a cheeky little wink that he just _knew_ would dig under his skin. Virgil clenched his fists as he ground his teeth together.

“The only act here is you, darling,” Deceit looked him up and down, “And _bravo_ , it’s just so good you’re even deceiving yourself. And you think I’m the liar!”

Virgil tensed but froze as he heard a paper bag crinkle behind him. He whirled around to see goddamn Princey arm-deep into a Dorito bag. Eugh, orange crumbs on his white uniform? Patton would chew him out later. No, not important! Virgil narrowed his eyes at Roman furtively look between them, then another slow crinkle as he reached for another Dorito.

“Roman!”

“Whaaat! Is this not _our_ living room, Stormy Downer?” Roman draped himself across the sofa and dropped Doritos into his gaping mouth hole like they were divine grapes, “Mmph! Keep going! Mmm, like I’m not even here!”

More obnoxious crunches. A vein pulsed in his temple at the sound. Roman chortled as he shook the bag for more.

“Eat with your mouth closed, it’s gross!” Virgil snapped, then shook his head as he turned to face Deceit again, “Ignore him. How about we take this somewhere else and _talk_.”

“I just _love_ how you ignore Roman, so very cool of you,” Deceit rubbed the pad of his gloves together as he raised an eyebrow, “And I’m sorry to say but this is a family participation talk today so the handsome prince will have to stay.”

Roman sat up, orange Dorito chips falling down and onto the carpet, “Handsome? Oh ho ho ho, you got me listening.”

Patton poked his head in from the kitchen, “I heard a racket in here, what’s the big–”

Deceit snapped his fingers shut and threw it open at the sofa. Patton landed with a yelp onto the soft pillows. He caught a glimpse of Roman’s disastrous uniform and summoned a napkin within seconds to start scrubbing at Roman’s face. Ha! Roman squirmed as Patton pinched at his cheeks. Deceit rolled his eyes as he pursed his lips at the loud doting from Patton. Virgil tensed as that wily snake eye focused on him.

“Logan dear!” Deceit called behind his hand, “Patton wants your opinion on something and he’s just absolutely _distraught_ without your guidance.”

Virgil scoffed, “Like that’s actually gonna–”

Logan turned around adjusting his glasses with a smirk, then his face fell at the sight of Patton scrubbing at Roman’s sash. Several expressions flickered through his face before it settled back into that professional mask. Virgil looked down. Logan’s tie ironed straight and more immaculate than ever. Virgil squinted, did...did Logan have gel in his hair or had he gone crazy? Wow…

“DECEIT!” Logan had gone rigid at the sight of him. Thank god someone else with the _sense_ to not trust that snake. And this is why Virgil preferred him sometimes. Okay fine, Patton was his favorite best friend but no one had to know that. Virgil shoved his hands into his hoodie as he glared at Deceit, ignoring the way his fingers twitched with the urge to smash his face in. The itchy ball in his chest that clawed at his ribs, hungry for wrath and screaming until his throat went hoarse. He could almost feel his eyeshadow darken by several shades.

“Leave us alone,” Virgil stepped forward, letting the shadows nip at his heels, “You’re not welcome here. Not now and not ever.”

“Oohh! Better put a muzzle on that Beast of yours, Beauty,” Deceit said as he glanced over to Patton, “Careful, he might bite you love.”

Patton dropped his hands from Roman’s face, “Hey that’s one of my four best friends you’re talking about! And he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Deceit grinned, sharp teeth glinting in the light, “Yes, that’s _totally_ why I’m here, to talk about your cutesy rainbow vomit friendship,” He clasped his hands behind his back, “Boys? You know what to do.”

Patton yelped in pain as Roman held one arm while Logan pinned the other. Virgil could see how Patton’s eyes stung with the betrayal, brown eyes wide with tears. Patton struggled but grimaced as Logan kept him still until his grip creaked. Trapped on the couch, forced to sit and watch. Virgil snarled as he took a step forward. He knew Roman could be an airhead but Logan too?

“What did he tell you?!” Virgil said, his heart pounding in his throat like the walls threatened to close in, “He’s a liar! Roman, I know you’re thick, but you Logan?” He shook his head as Logan glared up at him, “Wow, I’m sure Thomas is gonna be real happy that his logic went haywire.”

“Me? I’m the problem?” Logan’s eyes shone with cold fire, “HA!”

Virgil stumbled a step back, “But I’m not…”

“Virgil, Virgil, our protective vigil,” Deceit mocked as he leaned in to whisper, “I didn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know.”

Virgil’s eyes flew open, “You **_didn’t–_** ”

“I just meant your little alliance with Morality over there,” Deceit laid a glove on his shoulder, the touch a red hot iron even through his hoodie, “Not dangerous at all or destroying Thomas in the _slightest_. If it did,” The glove slid down his back as goosebumps followed, “It would have rather nasty side-effects like crushing his _dreams_ and ignoring his _rational_ thought. Would Thomas be happy about that?”

Virgil screamed as Deceit twisted his wrist until he crumpled to his knees. _Fuck._ Before Virgil could get back to his feet, Deceit pinned his other wrist behind his back. A sharp knee dug into his back until he bowed under it. Virgil shook as his thoughts raced in his mind. If this really was a family talk, Thomas would be here and not violent at all. No, no, he knew Deceit’s little game here. That dramatic edgelord wanted a _show_. A dramatic reveal of the boogeyman!

Heh, back to the start then.

Deceit snapped his fingers and cold iron-cast shackles clicked around his wrists and a chain bolted to the floor. Like an animal. Virgil rolled his eyes at the overkill. He hissed as a yellow glove yanked his head up by the hair until his back arched. His neck twinged as sharp pangs shot through his back. The common room went dark.

A spotlight turned on with a hum, the bright glare directly on him. Virgil, Anxiety, the _problem_. He swallowed back a bitter laugh, well they weren’t _wrong_. If they really knew what he was...He swallowed, he didn’t want to go back to being alone. Alone in the dark. In the cold, until a snake came along pretending to be his friend. No, not again.

“What’s going on? Roman, I’m very disappointed in you!! We have to help Virgil,” Patton rustled in the shadows, Virgil shuddered in relief at his voice, “You’re a prince! How can you stand by and let this happen?! And help _him_?”

“He’s really nice and he knows what he’s talking about…”

“What? Roman, he’s a liar!”

“Oh honey, it came down to a majority vote,” Deceit twisted his fingers in his hair with a yank, “Three against two. And would you call that fair?”

“Well, _no_ but--”

“Ah ah, you said it not me,” Deceit blew a kiss at Patton with a smack, “Mwah mwah so clever! But Logan is so much more clever and Roman too, far more than you give him due credit,” Deceit loomed over him, yellow snake eyes shining with glee, “It’s been a rigged game for so _long_ and the prizes are full of ash. No candy for us.”

Virgil swallowed back a lump, “You want to make it fair. But you always _rig_ the whole goddamn system anyway! There’s no point in this!” He bucked and convulsed against his shackles as his teeth snapped, “ **YOU’RE SELFISH!** ”

Deceit licked his lips, “I told you, glass houses. We’re doing this for Thomas.”

Roman’s voice piped up, small and unsure, “You said you were going to even the playing field but I don’t see how chaining him up is a good idea.”

“It’s not,” Deceit reassured over his shoulder.

“I too have my doubts,” Logan said as he cleared his throat, “Perhaps we can go back to my original idea of talking this out?”

Deceit rolled his eyes, “And how did that work from your _bench_?”

“Not well.”

“Right, we’re doing this my way,” Deceit shook his head, then whispered with a smirk, “Are they always so _easy?_ ”

Virgil narrowed his eyes, “Fuck you.”

“My my such foul language,” Deceit purred, then twirled until he stood behind Virgil so he could be in full view of his family, “I think it’s time to know your partner in crime, Patton. See who you’re _really_ helping win. Oh, you’ll cry and cry and cry…”

Virgil froze, his breath stuck in his throat. No, no, no. They _can’t_ know. He squirmed but the grip on his hair tightened and the cool air on his face reminded him how vulnerable it was. No bangs to cover his face up. The piercing glare of the spotlight made his shadows twist and suck at his heels like piglets. Weak. Sweat slipped down the back of his neck at the answering silence. His own ragged breaths loud in it. They can’t know. Patton _can’t_.

Deceit traced a finger along the bottom bone of his eye socket, “Have I ever said you got _beautiful_ eyes? Brown? Blue?” He glanced up at his audience, “I don’t know which is it…”

“Let me go! Roman please!” Patton sounded angrier than Virgil had ever heard him, “I swear I will fight you! And I mean it this time! Logan just stop!” A broken little sob came from the darkness, “Stop it, Deceit! I can-I can do whatever you want, just _stop_.”

“Maybe we should--”

“Should we?” Deceit said before Roman could finish, “The show isn’t over until the fat lady sings, right? Why don’t I ask our guest here some questions? Harmless enough right, Father?”

Patton didn’t protest.

Virgil sagged, of course. Patton couldn’t resist eating play-doh so why wouldn’t he want to know his greatest secret? Deceit hummed in delight as he tapped a finger under his right eye. Virgil wanted to scream and run and hide. Be anywhere but here. Instead, a sick feeling coated his lungs like he couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. His eyes shook too hard from nerves and fear. Deceit had become a wavy blur of darkness and yellow eyes every time he tried to focus on the bastard.

“What’s your name?”

“Virgil but you already knew that, asshat–"

“Sure, but I meant your name,” Deceit’s voice dropped into a velvet purr as he leaned down, “Your real name. Not the one Thomas thought he knew. What your family knew.”

The room silent as the gallows, waiting for the pin to drop.

“It’s Ethan,” Virgil rolled his eyes as he scoffed, “Yeah no, it’s fucking _Virgil_. Like this is pointless and dumb and dramatic and you hate me!”

“So what if he has a different name!” Patton shouted and for a moment Virgil caught a glimpse of blue eyes glowing, “He’s still my best friend no matter who he is!”

“Yeah if that was it, then this was kind of a letdown,” Roman not so subtly whispered, “I’m just saying.”

Deceit paused then laughed, the sound echoing. Two hands gripped his head, the gloves bruising around his jaw as they forced his face forward. The spotlight grew brighter. Virgil hissed as something _burned_ in his right eye. No! The damn light must’ve--he screamed as half of his vision went red. With blood or anger, he couldn’t tell. His shoulders shook as he dug his fingernails into his palms through the pain. He heard shouts at the distance of his hearing.

The gloves fell away and his head slumped forward. Bangs covered his face as he panted. The spotlight dimmed back to its normal glare. Shit. _Shit._ Virgil swallowed, hoping his throat didn’t kill itself with screaming. Wrenching away his spell like that? God the minute he got out of these shackles, he would have to punch Deceit in the face ten times more than usual. Manipulative dickwad.

“Virgil?” Patton whispered, “Are you okay? Look at me, please.”

Deceit stepped away with a low chuckle.

Virgil looked up.

Patton’s face was clear in all glory with a spotlight of his own, eyes red-rimmed with tears and cheeks wet. What happened next came in slow motion. Every minuscule expression seemed to last years. His eyebrows drew up as his eyes widened. Patton’s jaw dropped inch by inch. Then, what he had been waiting for, the _flinch_. The darting of eyes around the room like he needed to make sure it was all real. Sorry Pop, this was one nightmare no one could wake up from.

Patton gasped, the imperceptible lean back of his shoulders, “Your right eye its! Its-its-not brown! You’re a-”

“Two different eye colored freak like the rest of us,” Deceit purred from behind him, “Dark sides? What a _totally_ accurate name for us. Evil and irredeemable and yada yada.”

Virgil didn’t need to look into a mirror to see what Patton saw. His right eye a pale blue that forewarned the rise of the sun. Almost grey in the right light. Whatever. Everything he needed to know about his eye came from Patton’s instinctual shrink in Roman and Logan’s arms. Deceit snapped his fingers and the spotlight and dramatic lighting disappeared. Everything back to normal, including no more shackles.

“I’m not Anxiety,” Virgil swallowed as he stared down at the carpet, “Never have been. It’s just what Thomas assumed I was since I liked to use anxiety a lot to help my purpose.”

Roman’s boots came to a stop in front of him, “Then….who are you?”

“I’m **Isolation** ,” Virgil said as he pulled his hood over his head as his heart raced, “I’m supposed to protect Thomas from the outside world. Can’t really do that if he’s scared, right?” The joke fell flat, “I’m sorry, it’s just--I’m just the same old me. I’m still really weird cause I like being around his friends cause it doesn’t make me _feel_ isolated anymore. Just like I did with anxiety, I can make more or less of it depending on what I need.”

Logan’s loafers came to stand next to Roman’s boots, “Is that why you wanted to go to the wedding? I do recall that you strangely didn’t know about Thomas’ anxiety about going,” He hummed, “So you wanted to go so he wouldn’t be isolated from his friends?”

“Wait, so isolation in all forms?!” Roman stomped the ground, “You were isolating Thomas from his hopes and dreams!”

Logan coughed.

“And oh right, and from his nerd,” Roman added, then tapped the floor, “Isolation, why didn’t you tell us? How can you _lie_ about this?”

The disdain-dripped name drop of Isolation made his heart sting. Virgil croaked but no words came out to his defense. He _knew_ this would happen. No more Disney marathons with Roman, late night talks or Logan, or no more of Dad’s hugs. Virgil froze as the last pair of shoes, brown crocs, came into view. Patton.

“This is the last you’ll see me,” Deceit chuckled as he sank out, “Good luck, _best friend_.”

Virgil shot to his feet with a snarl but empty air stood where Deceit once stood. Coward. He shoved his hands into his pockets but grimaced as sharp pain laced through his fingers. Oh right. How could he forget the long creepy black nails he had? Like straight out of a horror movie. Virgil adjusted his hands until his nails didn’t scrap against his palms anymore. Idiot, no wonder Patton hated him. Everyone did. He swiped at his eyes with a sleeve and sniffle. Don’t cry, _don’t cry_.

“Virgil?”

His shoulders drew up at Patton’s quiet voice, “S-sorry, dad. I can just go.”

“No! No, don’t go,” Patton stepped closer and turned Virgil around to face him with gentle hands on his shoulders, “Yeah I’m a bit shocked and angry but please, hear me out first?”

Virgil looked up at him through his bangs, “...Okay, sure shoot.”

“Virgil, I realize now I made a mistake,” Patton said, then continued like his whole world wasn’t shattering, “As much I hate to say it, but Deceit was right.”

Patton’s face became a blur through unbidden tears, “Right, right, of course.”

“Maybe we have been too hard on Thomas lately,” Patton patted his cheek with an emotion he couldn’t understand, “I know you don’t think I’m stupid but you can stop lying now. I was pretty stupid,” Patton laughed, “God I haven’t been helping Thomas at all, neither of us has, if I’d only seen it sooner.”

“You’re not stupid,” Virgil shot back, “And it’s not you could’ve seen it, I had it literally behind a whole spell and whatever. But...you don’t hate me?”

“No, I just only wish I knew earlier then I would've known what helped you,” Patton said, then pulled Virgil into a hug and buried his face into his shoulder, “You’re my kiddo. I love you unconditionally, it’s part of the package! But…” Virgil tensed, “I gotta pay attention to my other kiddos _too._  Roman hasn’t cracked a gay joke in two weeks, clearly I’m not paying attention.”

Virgil wrapped his arms around Patton in a tight squeeze, “You know what, fair. But I’m still pretty pissed at him,” He glared at Roman over his shoulder, “I had _one_ rule and it was to never bring Deceit or any of his friends around here!”

Roman scoffed as he crossed his arms, “You two were acting weird and freakish! Like Patton was a _terrible_ lawyer and he still won a court case! That’s like, impossible!” He nudged Logan, “Right? Very improbable and all that.”

“Indeed,” Logan adjusted his glasses, “Are we all on the same page now? The dramatics over? Because we have a set schedule to go back to and set up another audition to make up for that lost callback.”

Virgil narrowed his eyes, “You fricking teamed up with _Deceit_ like that’s the definition of betrayal? Like hell, I’m trusting you and–”

“We also missed several past auditions, helped a friend move in when Thomas had a prior engagement,” Logan listed off his fingers, “Drove to comfort a friend on the other side of town when he needed to work on editing a video, never shuts his phone off so he could be reached at all times, and worries more about what his friends think of him rather than his own desires and needs.”

Virgil sulked, “So what?”

“So what, Isolate-tope Negative?!” Roman gestured to himself with a scowl, “He’s miserable! I’m miserable and Teach here won’t say it, but he’s miserable too without Thomas feeding him!” Patton flinched in Virgil’s arms, “Maybe you should shunt Thomas alone in his house for a while, that’s what you do right? Isolate?”

“Not just that,” Virgil muttered.

“You have made fools of us long enough, and what I am is not a _joke_ ,” Logan crossed his arms as he stared at them both, “We need to go inform Thomas of this development. And I advise you, Patton, to keep quiet and listen.”

Virgil’s hackles raised, “You can’t talk to him like that.”

“Virgil, it’s okay,” Patton patted his cheek, then straightened with a sigh, “I think we gotta go face the music, kiddo.”

Roman sank out with a huff. Logan gave them one last glare before he sank out too. They stood together in the common room, alone again. Virgil swallowed thickly as he looked down at Patton. What could he say? All excuses abandoned him. His right eye damned him from the very start, all of his progress from the last year or so down the drain. Great. And he hurt Thomas for however long. Virgil reached up to cover up his ugly right eye.

“Hey hey no,” Patton pulled down his fingers gently, “I know it surprised me. A lot, if I’m honest. Up close it’s very pretty! Virgil,” Patton smiled like the first hopeful rays of a sunrise, “I know best friends are supposed to tell each other secrets but I can _see_ why you didn’t. It’s okay,” Virgil shook his head, “It is! I’m doggone mad about what I’ve done to make you feel like you couldn’t tell me. Or that we may have hurt Thomas. But…”

“Are we even still best friends?” Virgil whispered.

Patton twined his fingers through his, “No, we’re not.”

Virgil sniffled, “O-oh, yeah yeah I get that.”

“We’re not best friends **_yet_** ,” Patton said, his eyes shining with unshed tears, “So come on. I think Thomas is calling us. I think Roman and Logan will come back around, okay?”

“Yeah I wish, one look at this eye will remind them why they won’t,” Virgil scoffed, then hesitated before continuing, “...You think it’s pretty?”

Patton pulled on his hand and they sank out.


End file.
